‘We’re figuring out cool ways of storytelling’: how TikTok is changing the way we watch musicals

Jorge Rivera-Herrans's musical sensation Epic is just one of a series of works making a splash on the online platform

When Jorge Rivera-Herrans released part of Epic: the Musical last Christmas, he managed to push Taylor Swift off the top of the US iTunes album charts. So there is a lot at stake when the final instalment of his musical retelling of the Odyssey is released on Christmas Day.

Rivera-Herrans's project has already been an extraordinary success, with more monthly listeners on Spotify (1.6m) than veterans such as Morrissey, Liam Gallagher, or the Sex Pistols, and 119m plays on the platform in the past 28 days alone.